Why You Need To Name Alternates In Your Will.

I'm going to broach a subject that is never easy to discuss and may cause some discomfort: The possibility that one or more of your descendants may not outlive you. As stressful as this may be, it is something that you may need to consider when deciding what to do for obtaining your Will.

Alternate beneficiaries

It's never easy to think of your children not surviving you, and I'm not trying to be morbid here. In a perfect world our children will live well beyond us, their children will outlive them, and so forth. But tragic things happen, and it's smart to have alternatives in place when naming beneficiaries of your estate. What if your spouse predeceases you? Or if one of your descendants passes away before you do? Where do those shares go? What happens in the remote chance that several descendants are not alive to receive their inheritance?

By not planning for contingencies, if a child passes away before you do and the court has to make the decision, that deceased child's share may not be distributed according to your wishes. The court applies the laws of intestacy to that part of the Will that fails, due to there being no nominated contingent beneficiary.

 

Do you want the share to be passed down to the deceased child's children (per stirpes), or do you want it to be shared by your other surviving children? There are no wrong answers here--only you know what's best. It's important that you plan for it and talk it over with your attorney.

Alternate fiduciaries

When the time comes to administer your estate many years from now the personal representative you have nominated in your Will might not be available or able to serve. It's possible that the personal representative may choose not to serve, perhaps due to constraints in their busy life. Serving as a fiduciary is voluntary--choosing to bow out is their prerogative if their life is too hectic at that time or if it creates some hardship. And there is the possibility that your personal representative will predecease you.

That is why you should consider nominating at least one successor personal representative in your Will so that there is a backup person you trust to take care of your estate after you are gone. Because if your primary personal representative cannot serve and there is no nominated successor in your Will, the probate court will appoint one without your input.

The precautions outlined above for personal representatives should also be similarly applied to any custodians, guardians or conservators you have appointed in your Will.

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This subject is a lot to process and it requires some planning. Give it some thought as you complete the intake questionnaire prior to meeting with your estate planning attorney.